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Grex > Music2 > #112: Changes in the Music Business | |
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| Author |
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| 25 new of 189 responses total. |
carson
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response 86 of 189:
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Jun 4 01:04 UTC 1999 |
(uh, it wouldn't be the first time that "black" music captured the
nation's imagination. gospel... blues... jazz... rock 'n roll... etc.)
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cloud
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response 87 of 189:
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Jun 4 01:09 UTC 1999 |
I'd like to draw your attention, Daniel, to the bit of the quote that reads
"one other time in this century".
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lumen
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response 88 of 189:
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Jun 4 06:34 UTC 1999 |
resp:86 But it seems to be true now probably more than ever. I could
be wrong.
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carson
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response 89 of 189:
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Jun 5 06:34 UTC 1999 |
(it's only true for us now because we're living now. the blues were
*BIG*, even while being performed by the original artists. ditto jazz:
there were clubs in Harlem that catered exclusively to "whites";
"blacks" weren't allowed in, except to perform. of my short list, rock
is the only one that "needed" peformers of a Caucasian origin in order
to become a mainstream hit.)
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orinoco
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response 90 of 189:
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Jun 6 22:36 UTC 1999 |
Thank you, cloud, you're right. I missed that.
Carson - really? I was under the impression that jazz only really took off
when white performers got into the act as well, in terms of popularity at
least - but I don't remember where I heard that, and it might well be wrong.
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carson
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response 91 of 189:
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Jun 7 02:39 UTC 1999 |
(hmm... are you thinking of the Rat Pack singing? I can't think of
anyone else myself.)
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krj
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response 92 of 189:
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Jun 8 22:23 UTC 1999 |
Orinoco may have missed the bit about cultural revolutions "in this
century" in resp:82.
The history of jazz is murkier than it should be to me.
From the 1920's, the only white name which leaps out from my foggy
brain as important is Paul Whiteman. But this was also the beginning
of the era of mass culture, so it's not clear to me that any
individual jazz musician had a star performer's following in this
period. Jazz as a style seems to have been a big part of urban
culture in this period, though.
When you get to the swing/big band era, white bandleaders dominated the
market: Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman.
The only major black bandleaders I can think of from the period
are Duke Ellington and Count Basie.
The swing era is what we would recognize even today as
popular music with a mass market, the star system, etc.
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dbratman
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response 93 of 189:
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Jun 24 22:59 UTC 1999 |
I find the history of jazz to be tremendously confusing, partly because
I have no real understanding of the various kinds of jazz. Terms like
"be-bop" are just words to me. I've probably heard some, but I
wouldn't know that that's what I've heard.
Although I have no taste for jazz at all, I'd be willing to invest in
a good CD historical survey of the field if I could find one, just for
the sake of my cultural education. So far all I've found is the one
sold by BBC Music Magazine, which divides into two parts: the pre-WW2
stuff, which all sounds alike to me, and the post-WW2 stuff, which also
all sounds alike to me (but different from the pre-WW2 stuff). This
didn't help much.
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krj
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response 94 of 189:
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Jun 27 19:52 UTC 1999 |
I think the Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz is still in print.
This was a five LP set; I think it's been reissued on 3 CDs.
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krj
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response 95 of 189:
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Jul 13 19:42 UTC 1999 |
News item: Columbia House, the music "club" owned by Sony and Time-Warner,
is merging with online retailer CDNow. The new entity will be 37% owned
by the two major labels. Columbia House and CDNow will do extensive
cross-promotion on their websites, and CDNow will get lowest-cost access
to the Sony and Time-Warner CDs.
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mcnally
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response 96 of 189:
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Jul 14 00:41 UTC 1999 |
Can anyone say "anti-competitive"? I knew you could.. So much easier
to buy up a competitor than to squash them like a bug and run a much
higher risk of antitrust scrutiny..
Sony & Time-Warner don't quite make up a monopoly but put them together
with Bertelsmann and you come pretty close. I don't like seeing the
giants swallow up their potential competition. CDNow already merged
with MusicBlvd.. At least even Sony & Time-Warner don't have enough
money to casually swallow Amazon (at least not at current valuation!)
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krj
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response 97 of 189:
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Nov 1 23:15 UTC 1999 |
News item: The RealJukebox software program collects data on what
music the user is playing and recording, and it reports this data
to Real Networks along with the user's identity. One person interviewed
in the article states this information could be subpoenaed under the
Digital Millenium Copyright Act.
Every CD played on the computer is reported. Songs found on the hard drive
are reported. Any portable music player connected is reported.
Source: New York Times, 11/1/1999.
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orinoco
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response 98 of 189:
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Nov 2 00:10 UTC 1999 |
What is the Digital Millenium Copyright Act?
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mcnally
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response 99 of 189:
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Nov 2 00:37 UTC 1999 |
Recent (last year) legislation that substantially increases criminal
penalties for low-level software piracy and other intellectual property
violations. I'd summarize, but my recollection of it is so dire that
I myself am convinced that I must be making it up and that nobody would
pass such an outrageous law..
It's about time RealMedia got slapped for the obnoxious behavior of
their software. I uninstalled an early version of RealPlayer when it
became clear to me that it was sending packets back to the company
every time I used it -- this isn't just a new feature they added to
their latest product (although it does sound like they're both collecting
more information now and being even less sensitive to privacy concerns.)
Real Networks apparently claim that their software isn't violating users'
privacy because they don't store [all of] the information or share it with
other companies. I'd like to ask them exactly where they believe their
product's behavior *does* lie on the privacy spectrum..
At any rate I think this is an excellent example of why closed standards
for streaming audio and video formats are a terrible idea. Unfortunately
the muscle behind proprietary standards in those areas of computing is
very strong -- you have Real[Audio/Video], Microsoft Media Player, the
DVD formats, etc..
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goose
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response 100 of 189:
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Nov 2 16:08 UTC 1999 |
As soon as I get home any product by real is getting axed from my machines.
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orinoco
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response 101 of 189:
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Nov 2 21:17 UTC 1999 |
I guess I'm missing the point. Why should I feel the need to hide what music
I listen to?
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dbratman
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response 102 of 189:
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Nov 2 21:41 UTC 1999 |
Why is it anybody's business but yours what you listen to unless you
want to tell them?
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mcnally
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response 103 of 189:
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Nov 2 22:52 UTC 1999 |
re #101: Wow.. You *ARE* missing the point.
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krj
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response 104 of 189:
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Nov 2 23:35 UTC 1999 |
Today's news is that Real has issued a patch which will disable
their reporting function.
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orinoco
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response 105 of 189:
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Nov 2 23:42 UTC 1999 |
Yes, Mike, we've established that. Would someone care to fill me in, or
should I just go on feeling dense?
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lumen
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response 106 of 189:
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Nov 4 00:05 UTC 1999 |
resp:101 resp:102 resp:103 There are some people for whom privacy
is a BIG issue. For others, it's not quite that big a deal. I take it that
it is important for those who wish to protect their privacy be offered the
means to do so.
Sheesh. Remind me that I should add the topic of privacy to the list
of things I should avoid bringing up in discussion.
(no, of course I didn't bring it up, but I hate seeing people get so
touchy.. reminds me of the sadism people like to inflict on some
solicitors who are trying hard to earn a living in a polite and honest
way)
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lumen
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response 107 of 189:
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Nov 4 00:06 UTC 1999 |
(and no, I'm not suggesting this topic of discussion is something
polite and honest Real is using for marketing)
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krj
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response 108 of 189:
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Dec 16 23:23 UTC 1999 |
Item: A Royal Oak CD store was busted for bootleg CDs yesterday,
according to WWJ news radio. I can't be certain I remember the name of
the store precisely, so I'm leaving it out. In your followups, it
would probably be better not to accuse stores of criminal behavior
by name.
WWJ said that investigators had bought bootleg CDs at the store
for a three month period.
Item: Wall Street Journal says that the FTC is investigating
if major labels are breaking price-fixing rules on CDs. The investigation
grows out of the review of the acquisition of CD Now by Sony and
Time/Warner. The practice in question is where the label sets a
minimum price for a CD and will not supply the usual advertising
subsidy if the ad lists a price below that minimum. According to the
WSJ story, suggested retail prices are not illegal, but collusion or
solo practices to enforce them may be.
In another WSJ story today, they report that the Justice Department
is reviewing the dominance of MTV in the distribution of music videos.
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mcnally
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response 109 of 189:
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Dec 17 05:15 UTC 1999 |
What I read about the Justice Department MTV investigation is that
Viacom (parent company of MTV, VH-1, and the MTV spin-off channel
(M2?)) is accused of demanding exclusivity agreements for videos.
If true, that sounds like flat-out restraint of trade:
a) Viacom holds an overwhelmingly dominant position in the market,
b) the alleged practices are clearly deleterious for competitors,
c) they arguably harm consumers by preventing competitors to Viacom
from entering the market and actually *showing* music videos.
It's a little tough at this point to remember what MTV used to be like
and even tougher to remember a time shortly before MTV when there wasn't
a 24-hour music network but there were competing network television
shows playing music videos in late-night Friday and Saturday time slots.
In this day and age, though, Viacom holds an amazing amount of power in
the music business and they clearly like to use it for their own benefit..
I have no idea whether the allegations about demanding exclusive rights
to show the videos they air are true or not but if they are true I hope
Viacom gets nailed. I think increased competition would be very good for
popular music.
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orinoco
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response 110 of 189:
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Dec 18 00:21 UTC 1999 |
Interesting. I didn't even realize that MTV and VH1 were the same
company....explains a lot, actually.
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